Conservatimi Resources 



13he PAN AME:RICAN UNION 

JOHN BARRETT : : Director General 
FRANCISCO J. YANES : Assistant Director 



NICARAGUA 



LAND OF ENCHANTED VISTAS 



-oS 



Reprinted trom the December, 1917, issue 
of the Bulletin of the Pan American Union 




/ 



\ 



"4 



lb 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1918 



/ /, 



v'T k -w |Wf'f% f|-p- i7'Wf 



WILAMAIjUA, LAWU yr K.m 



rWAMVim lJf€T 



« 1^ I i'. IJ W i*.l i 1-'^ 



'"% 1 



^iil'S.!/! i J.^A# f AV.J J. X3.V 



WE first saw Momotombo, a mile-high pyramidal cone, float- 
ing high in the heavens and enveloped in a purple haze 
that blended imperceptibly into the fleeting clouds about 
its summit. A mirage had lifted the distant peak into 
the skies. Beneath this mystic mountain of the clouds, there seemed 
a band of blue, the blue of immeasurable clear spaces, as though 
this phantom peak, with its faint gray plume, were suspended in the 
ether or rested upon a base of radiant blue light. On every hand, 
both north and south, were lesser peaks, each of them symmetrical 
cones, now standing out boldly in the brilliant tropical light and 
again gray with the shadows of the low-lying clouds. And in the 
foreground appeared the bright green of extensive pampas, vast seas 
of waving grass. 

■ Gazing upon this brilliant mirage one would, indeed, have had 
difficulty in determining what of the spectacle were real and what 
a trick of the eyes. Yet either decision would have been well founded, 
for nature in Nicaragua gilds her landscapes with enchantment. 

But neither Momotombo, Coseguina, nor even wonderful Omotepec 
or other famed volcanic peaks are the greatest glory of Nicaragua. 
Clearly the marvel of this land is the great inland Lake Nicaragua, 
the largest body of fresh water between Lake Huron and the famed 
Lake Titicaca on the borders of Bolivia and Peru. Lake Nicaragua, 
the smaller Lake Managua, and the area of fertile plains form the 
huge interior basin of Nicaragua, the inevitable location of a busy 
people. 

It was late afternoon when our steamer rounded the lighthouse 
on the low-lying headland that marks the approach to Corinto. A 
brisk tide was flowing and we dropped anchor and whistled. The 
officers of the port came aboard. In 45 minutes we were tied up 
at the pier and had left the steamer, which even then had begun 
loading sacked coffee from flat cars shunted to the ship's side by small 
locomotives. 

Corinto, on the Pacific, is the chief seaport of Nicaragua. It is 
one of the handiest ports between Panama and the States. Through 
Corinto passes more than two-thirds of Nicaragua's foreign trade. A 
beach, low-lying, yet withal weU above the limit of high tide, gives 

1 By Hamilton M. Wright 



Q« of B« . 
JUN 19 %%%% 



4 IsriCAEAGUA^ LAND OP ENCHANTED VISTAS. 

way to groves of lofty palms that shade this picturesque community. 
Hotels and shops face upon a broad beach walk that curves outward 
to the pier. Good accommodations were to be had at Corinto for 
those who would take the train to the interior in the morning. 

There is no country just like Nicaragua; none which is, perhaps, 
more difficult to describe by comparisons with other lands. When 
the sun, like a baU of molten fire, has plunged beneath the rim of 
the Pacific, and the sunset clouds tinged with purple, red, and gold, 
have faded before the swift, coming night, one can not be sure whether 
the scenes of tomorrow, in the pale light of early dawn, will resemble 
those of the day that has passed. Thus, in the morning, the mirage 
had gone. Old Momotombo, 60 miles or more away, mingled with 
a dozen nearer peaks. The brush fires upon their sides, that had 
given semblance of upheavals the night before, were now scarcely 
discernible. 

It is a dreamy land, at first glance; one where wonderful lights 
and shades, mirages, and mist effects imbue even familiar features 
of the landscape with the mutable quality of changing panorama. 
But take the train for Granada and Lake Nicaragua. One soon 
discovers that for aU its dreamy semblance, its majestic revelations 
of nature, Nicaragua is an active, progressive country with a most 
enterprising people. The railroad leads through the largest cities. 
Chinandega, agricultural center, is only about 12 miles from Corinto; 
Managua, the capital, is about 65 miles from Corinto; Leon, the former 
capital, is this side of Managua. Here, as elsewhere in Central 
America, are crowds at every station and girls and women peddling 
dulces (sweets) and fruit to travelers and sometimes native pottery. 

The railroad journey does not resemble that into other Central 
American Republics. In passing into the interiors of Guatemala 
and Costa Rica the train first edges into the low coast country until 
it finally reaches the mountains, when it suddenly begins to ascend. 
The ascent continues until one is a mile or so above sea level, another 
world, where the steep gradient ceases, and the train winds along on 
the high plateaus, where are the chief cities and beautiful capitals. 

Not so in Nicaragua. The train ascends very leisurely from the 
coast, passing through a rich agricultural country which produces 
the finest maize, corn, sugar cane, etc., and slips through a low pass 
in the coast range, which is hardly more than a low watershed, into 
the great interior basin passing by Lake Managua to Granada 
at the head of Lake Nicaragua, whose waters are but a hundred feet 
above the level of the Pacific Ocean. There is much open country, 
for the torrential rainfall of the Caribbean coast is not to be found 
here. The huge mountains that rise from the plains, the shores of 
the lakes, or from the lakes themselves, afford indescribable contrasts 
of scene. 




GLIMPSES OF NICARAGUA. 

Upper: San Juan del Sur, looking shoreward from a steamer in port. Center: General view of the region 
in the vicinity of Castillo Rapids. Lower: Near the CastUlo Rapids, with the ruins of an ancient fort 
dominating the landscape. 



6 NICAEAGUA_, LAND OF ENCHANTED VISTAS. 

We started in the golden light of a fine cool morning, followed the 
little spur of land on which Corinto stands, and were away in Nica- 
ragua. On the train were persons from distant countries, for Nica- 
ragua is cosmopolitan. The agent of a Chicago machinery firm was 
bound 20 miles or so down the coast to install the ponderous equip- 
ment of a sugar central. A cattleman from Oklahoma was looking 
at land on the west shores of Lake Nicaragua. A commercial 
traveler from Venezuela (his wares undisclosed) would make the 
rounds of Nicaraguan cities. There was a Coloradoan who solicits 
orders for the future delivery of ladies' garments, cotton goods, and 
laces. His business is entirely on commission. His field is from 
Guatemala to Chile. There was an English gentleman interested in 
mining, and other travelers whose missions I did not learn. 

I should like to say that often my acquaintance from Colorado 
does not travel on a train or a steamer for months at a time. He 
travels overland. In South America he uses the old Andean trail. 
He had planned, after visiting Leon, Managua, Granada, and smaller 
cities, to leave the train and journey through El Salvador and Guate- 
mala by pack train. Had his business demanded he could have 
gone south into Costa Rica, since there are good State roads running 
all through Central America. They are much traveled. The Gov- 
ernment of Nicaragua has been active in road building. There are 
fine connections into Guatemala and Costa Rica and there are some 
2,000 miles of roads in El Salvador. 

Passing from the coast one obtains a new perspective of the 
numerous volcanic cones which, from the Pacific, had appeared as 
rising in solitary grandeur from the low coastal plains. They suggest 
the isolated buttes one sees in New Mexico or near the lower end of 
Death Valley, California. But upon approaching it is seen that large 
numbers of them are connected by low, serrated ridges, paralleling 
the coast. Their igneous origin is plainly to be inferred from patches 
of purplish-blue and yellowish or copper-colored scoriae. 

Bear in mind the remarkable topography of Nicaragua. It gives 
rise to a number of distinct climatic zones. A short distance from 
the coast and paralleling its general course is the long low-lying 
chaia of volcanic peaks just mentioned. This chain constitutes the 
western watershed of the' great Repubhc. Its eastern slopes drain 
into Lakes Managua and Nicaragua. Then, proceeding from west 
to east, is the great basin comprising the plains and the two lakes, 
of which Managua is much the smaller. It is about 30 miles long 
and from 8 to 15 miles wide. The climate here is that of the Pacific 
side of the Cordilleras, with much less rainfaU than the Caribbean 
coast. It is moderated by the northeast trade winds, while the 
presence of the lakes and the near-by Pacific and the main chain of 
the Cordilleras exert a cooling influence. 





SCENES IN THE CAPITAL CITY, MANAGUA. 

Upper: Entrance to Campo de Marte. Center: The residence of the President of the coimtrv. Lower: 
One of the newer streets and the park, La Reforma, on the right. 



8 NICARAGUA, LAND OF ENCHANTED VISTAS. 

The next zone is that of the Cordilleras, spurs of the great Andes. 
They pass as a rough irregular chain from Costa Rica through 
Nicaragua, spreading out in great mountain masses in El Salvador 
and Honduras. The Cordilleras also constitute a watershed, the 
loftiest divide of the Republic, though they are broken by the San 
Juan River through which the surplus waters of Lake Nicaragua 
flow to the Caribbean. Then come the plateaus, the highlands, 
afid, finally, there is the low east coast with its innumerable swamps 
and hot, moist climate. 

Nicaragua is almost divided by water. The industrious boatmen 
who alternately row, pole, and sail their craft up the river San Juan 
and across Lake Nicaragua may approach within 15 or 20 miles of 
the Pacific Ocean on the west borders of the lake. It is this configura- 
tion that for generations has compelled recognition of Nicaragua as 
the potential seat of a great isthmian waterway. As in the case of 
the Panama Canal, the creation of the Nicaragua Canal would be a 
Herculean undertaking. Yet the day may come, and doubtless 
will, when watchers at San Carlos will behold modern steamers 
entering upon the vast expanse of Lake Nicaragua. 

Almost every water effect conceivable is to be visioned upon the 
broad surface of this mighty lake. At times the lake seems as great 
almost as Lake Huron. This especially is the case if one looks its 
length, for Lake Nicaragua is almost 100 miles long and nearly half 
as wide at its widest pomt. The lake, by the way, is reached from 
Granada by a car line a mile long, running from the market place to 
the water. 

The lake was a marvel on that day in February. Loons, pelicans, 
and diving birds flew over its placid surface. Small fish leaped from 
the water. In places a gentle breeze ruffled its smooth expanse. 
Great schools of minnows crowded frantically to the top, pursued by 
larger fish which zipped savagely through the alarmed brigades, tak- 
ing toll of the little fish and again returning to devour escaping 
stragglers. Out of gunshot and lifted in the air by a mirage, a flock 
of ducks floated upon the glassy waters. A long, low, lateen -sailed 
boat, perhaps loaded with dye woods or cordwood, slid slowly along, 
seeming to catch the wind in the higher parts of its sail. In the 
distance appeared another gasoline launch, which gave us greeting 
as it passed. Our friend, the cattleman, said he saw a shark. Most 
wonderful of all was the vision of the distant volcano, Omotepec, 
rising 5,180 feet from the island of that name. Its twin volcano, 
Madera, is about a thousand feet lower. Omotepec recalls somewhat 
the famous Taal volcano in the Laguna de Bay, a large inland lake, 
reached from Manila by the ascent of the Pasig River. In reality it 
is far more splendid, more imposing, than the noted Philippine vol- 
cano. Omotepec is a prodigious mass. Its base would cover New 




THE TOWER OF LA MERCED, GRANADA, NICARAGUA. 

iverjnvhere in Central America, even in the most unexpected places, the traveler discoveres the pictur- 
esque and even the beautiful. This finel}' proportioned tower, recently constructed, would beTworthy 
a classical setting in Italj'. 




Photos>y Willia 



STREET SCENE IN GRANADA. 



This little city of 17,000 people is located about 30 miles from Managua. The imposing edifice shown in 
the picture is the municipal market which fronts on the market plaza, the latter being one of the^most 
animated places of the city during the morning hours. 

40544—18 2 



10 NICAEAGUA, LAND OF EXCHANTED VISTAS. 

York City. The island from which it rises was the center of an early 
civihzation. Likely enough the lake was an inland plains from which 
there arose, no doubt, singly and in groups, volcanic eminences of 
varied heights that now, appearing from the water^ make Lake Nica- 
ragua one of the splendid show spots of the world. There are dozens 
of the islands. They range from the Omotepec and the large Zapa- 
tora to the smallest of the group kno\\ai as the Corales (Coral Islands). 
Santa Rosa, Solentinam, and Pizarro are among the others. 

Thick, primeval forests from the main range of the Cordilleras 
run down to the east shores of the lake. From its lower end one 
beholds the stupendous mountain masses of Costa Rica, which are 
continued in the huge chain running to the west and extending into 
Salvador and on into Guatemala and Mexico. On other points of 
the compass one beholds the volcanic peaks rising from the islands 
or from the plains or appearing as the most prominent features of 
long, low ridges. Although it shoals in spots near its shores, Lake 
Nicaragua is really a splendid commerce carrier, and at one time it 
was proposed to run car floats from Granada to the foot of the lake 
to connect with a suggested line that would meet the Northern Rail- 
way at Guapiles, Costa Rica, or in that vicinity, in the low country 
on the Atlantic side of the Cordilleras. But since that time surveys 
have been made through the level country along the west borders 
of Lake Nicaragua. 

World travelers who have visited Nicaragua have been warm in 
their praise of this land and its people. Some of Nicaragua's peaks 
are loftier than Vesuvius, and their water setting rivals the Bay of 
Naples. Here, too, nature is revealed in her most luxuriant garb, and 
there is much to interest the antiquarian. The region abounds in 
relics of past races. If travelers more widely knew what is to be seen 
in Nicaragua the journey through the Republic would become a 
beaten path for foreign travel. The steamer journey from Panama 
to Corinto and thence the interesting railroad trip to the ancient city 
of Granada are replete with change of incident and scene. The trip 
would include, of course, Managua, the capital, a thiiving, prosper- 
ous center, with the life and sparkle for which the Latin-American 
capitals are noted. Here are located the Palacio Nacional, the 
national library and museum, and other fine works of architecture. 
It is a center for the coffee and other trades. From the adjacent 
Lake Managua rises Little Momotombo, Momotombo itself being on 
the opposite shores. Leon, the former capital, would also be included 
in the itinerary. 

In early days this fine city was one of the most important in 
Spanish-America and to-day contains some of the finest public 
edifices in Central America. Among them is the beautiful cathedral, 
in ornate renaissance effect, which after many years of costly con- 




SCENE6 IN NICARAGUA. 



Upper: A street in Leon, a city of 63,000 people, 50 railes from Managua. Center: Bridge over the 
Chiquito River. Lower: Hotel building in Leon. 





Photo by 'William V. Alford. 

RELIGIOUS EDIFICES IN LEON, NICARAGUA. 

Upper: A suburban church as seen from a distance. Lower: The cathedral. On the left may'be noted 
the preparations for a procession in honor of a fiesta. 



NIGAEAGUA, LAND OF EITOHANTED VISTAS. 13 

struction was finally completed in 1774, two year& before the North 
American Colonies had signed the Declaration of Independence. It 
was built on plans furnished from Spain. As the beautiful edifices 
attest, Leon was the center of the church in this part of Central 
America. For generations young men from all parts of the Kepublic 
have attended the University of Leon. Tanning is an important 
industry. Boots, shoes, and saddles are made. Cotton and woolen 
goods are woven. You can have made here shoes to order of as 
fashionable a last and as stylish as you can get them in any part of 
the world. Beautiful shoes for women are made with white and 
brown leather insets. Cigars and cigarettes are manufactured and, 
incidentally, Nicaragua can produce as fine tobacco as is raised in 
the Vuelta Abajo. The Indian population was estabhshed at the 
site of Leon long before the advent of the early Spanish explorers. 
Here lived the ancient rulers of the coimtry. One can truthfully 
say that it is one of the oldest cities on the American hemisphere, 
antedating the coming of Columbus to western shores. Passing from 
Managua to Granada, one obtains the finest views of the volcano 
Misaya, another incident of the Nicaraguan journey. A visit to 
Misaya is well worth while. 

Life in Nicaraguan cities is attractive. The army officers in their 
smart uniforms, the bustle of official life, the cosmopoUtan character 
of those one meets, the pleasing architecture, the fiestas, the love 
of music and of wholesome enteitainment, and, most of all, the 
courtesy among all classes of Nicaragua's people, who probably now 
exceed one-haK million population, lend novelty and delight to a 
visit in Managua, Leon, or other centers. In these cities he who 
travels will find excellent hotels. In the shops one may purchase the 
products of both American and European manufacture. Although 
some of the former are becoming scarce, most of the needed wares 
seem to be on hand. Nor must we overlook the fact that Nicaragua 
has her own manufactures. Should the traveler desire to proceed 
into the interior he will be able to provide himself with everything 
necessary to outfit for the trip. 

Such a journey will never be forgotten. Bird life is varied and 
charming. It is said of many semitropical countries that the flowers 
give no scent and the birds no song. Certainly this is not true of 
Nicaragua. For one who wanders from the beaten path, the hosts 
of feathered friends, the flowers, beautiful trees, and flowering vines 
add indescribable charm to the wild beauties of nature. 

On one occasion we took an old trail leading back from the east 
shores of the lake. Some years before this had been a logging road 
and it was still maintained in a fair state of repair. I met here a 
young Swiss settler who spends a large part of his time in hunting 
deer, of which there are many, and other creatures of the wild. Hp 




GENERAL VIEW OF MATAGALPA, NICARAGUA. 

This town of about 5,000 population is located in the interior of the Republic and is becoming more and 
more important as a center of trade, the agricultural development of the region having greatly advanced 
in recent years. 




THE VOLCANO MOMOTOMBO. 

This symmetrical moiiutain rises near the shore of Lake Managua and is one of the attractive features 
of the landscape noticed by all toui-ists and travelers. 



NICARAGUA, LAND OF ENCHANTED VISTAS. 15 

has greatest success in the dense forests which crowd to the shores 
extending miles into the Cordilleras. Much of his hunting is done 
with a flash light at night along trails which he keeps clear. Tlie 
Tinamus or mountain hen, the crested Curassow (clax glol)icera), 
the tapir, the jaguar (el tigre), often fall victims to his woodcraft. 
In hunting, it may be interpolated, one does not crash boldly througli 
the forest, but steps softly, a few pace.; at a time, pausing to watch 
and listen, as the wild creatures do. Then, and then only, does the 
fascinating life of the wild become apparent. The forests which 
have seemed stilled and silent become peopled with beautiful and 
abundant life. 

Aside from the creatures mentioned there are turkeys of several 
species, wild hogs, and pigeons which abound almost everywhere. 
In the open country there is the small brown variety, scarcely larger 
than a robin, which will permit one to pass within a few feet. The 
cowardly puma, called el leon, is common here, as well as the nu- 
merous smaller predatory cats. Deer hides are used in the manu- 
facture of gloves. A jaguar hide will seU for from $3 to $8 gold 
according to its size, its marking, and the condition of the pelt. 
Pelts of the smaller cats, of which many are slain for every jaguar, 
are even cheaper. 

Animal collectors, particularly bird fanciers, visit the country, 
assembling young parrots, parrakeets, and macaws for the northern 
markets. Monkeys are also gathered, the poor little mother usually 
being killed. Of these little wild men the most intelligent that I 
have seen is the white-faced monkey. It is not, however, as common 
as the little brown fellow. The howlers are numerous. 

Insect life is found in variety. Great swarms of butterflies flit 
over the surfaces of lagoons. At the water's edge spiders cover whole 
trees with their webs. Perhaps most interesting of all creatures, 
large or small, are the leaf-cutting ants. These insects proceed 
from their nests for several yards to the foliage they will harvest. 
Moving in a circle with her hind legs as a pivot, each ant cuts from 
the selected plant a roundish piece of leaf about as large as one's 
thumb nail. Then she proceeds down the limb with her burden, 
where she joins hundreds of thousands of her companions, each 
bearing its bit of green leaf. The returning armies, marching in a 
dense formation 8 or 10 inches wide, suggest a rivulet of green. 
The bits of leaves are taken underground, where the}^ become en- 
crusted with a mold upon which the ants feed. Also the bold 
ecitons, or foraging ants, are to be seen. They prey exclusively on 
insects. Decaying logs or trees, under whose bark choice morsels lie, 
are to be found as the chief objectives of their raids. 

Above aU things Nicaragua is essentially an agricultural country, 
and perhaps we have not (hvelt sufTicientl}' on this. But a relatively 



NICAEAGUA, LAND OF ENCHANTED VISTAS. 17 

small proportion of its population is clustered in theicities. Of all 
Central America it has the most low level land. The aborigines 
had never seen a horse until the Spanish came, but to-day horses, 
mules, and cattle thrive. Three crops of maize may be raised in a 
year. Bread fruit grows and alligator pears, nectarines, grapefruit, 
yams, bananas, and sweet potatoes, cotton, corn, sugar cane, coffee, 
and vegetables are produced. 

Most interesting of all agricultural productions, to our way of 
thinking, is coffee. Take the branch to Diriamba and observe the 
coffee estates. There is nothing more attractive than a well-ordered 
coffee finca with its trees neatly pruned and flourishing. Once I 
came to a gate marked by large pillars. Thence a winding road 
led between the coffee trees to a hospitable plantation home, with 
near-by corrals and oxen. There were coffee driers where the berries 
are spread beneath the sun and a small mill where they are husked 
and sacked for market. A score of pretty Nicaraguan girls were 
working in a sorting shed through which we were shown by the 
hospitable proprietor. He had met us with friendly greetings as we 
had approached his home through the long rows of coffee bushes that 
with their shining dark green leaves formed a canopy 8 or 10 feet 
high. The ranch house was white with blue and ochre trimmings. 
It stood in a cluster of bamboos and palms, while lovely creepers with 
festoons of pink flowers clambered to the eaves and familiar garden 
flowers and cactus decorated the yard in front. After a repast of 
many courses and a pleasant afternoon we said good-by to our host 
who accompanied us to the gate. Had he known us a lifetime he 
could not have put himself at greater pains to be hospitable. 
''Adios, senor," he cried, "Come again. Do not forget to write. 
Remember, we are all your friends," and I knew they were. Whether 
one stops at a wealthy estate or at the humblest thatch, he feels the 
influence of a cordial welcome. 

We left as the afternoon shadows were lengthening across the 
shaded lane. It led over an arched bridge of masonry that spanned 
a dancing stream, where women knelt beating their clothes into an 
immaculate whiteness. Some of them wore the picturesque guipil 
and sash, and all were attractively attired. Prett}^ young girls were 
carrying water, laughing and chatting at their task. The lane wound 
by thick-waUed cottages staunclily built of sun-dried squares of 
earth and surfaced with white plaster that gave no hint of the hum- 
ble though enduring construction. Clusters of flowers fringed the 
walls matching the bright red of the Spanish tile roofs. Down the 
lane blew the evening breeze imparting almost a sense of chilliness to 
the late day, and when at last the smi had smik beneath the fringe 
of the near-by hills we could see the lights of our hotel and hear the 
distant strains of an orchestra. The day's work was over, but until 





Photos by William V Alford. 

FOOD PRODUCTION AMONG THE POORER CLASSES.' 

Upper: A simple device used in various tropical countries for grinding corn. Lower: Grinding arrow- 
root preparatory to making bread. 



XICAEAGUA, LAND OF ENCHANTED VISTAS. 19 

9 or 10 at night the creaking bull carts were to pass on the country 
roads laden with their sacks of coffee. Then the drivers would build 
a fire by the road, tell stories perhaps, smoke, chat, and plunge into 
sleep only to be started again before dawn. 

Such, in part, is Nicaragua, the Italy of Central America. It is a 
land of low-lying clouds and pleasant trade winds, of giant peaks and 
of lakes upon which every detail of these loft}^ eminences are mirrored, 
of ancient cities whose stately churches rise, for miles the most con- 
spicuous features of the landscape, of vast plains and dense forests. 
It is the country of a hundred giant momitains, oft colored by former 
upheavals whose debris contrasts with the encroaching green, Santa 
Clara, Coseguina, Momotombo, Omotepec, the extinct Mombacho 
towering above Granada, Los Pilas, Madera, Telica and a host of 
others. But perhaps I have said enough of volcanoes and have 
ascribed to them an importance which, apart from their scenic charm, 
their relation to the country does not warrant. Yet I have men- 
tioned these splendid peaks solely because they are wonderful and 
picturesque features of the landscape. Always they are fascinating, 
frequently beautiful and appalling, never more so than when rising 
clouds like great parasols are beheld above their summits. The 
majestic appearance of the twin volcanoes, Omotepec and Madera, 
rising almost a mile in height from the waters of Lake Nicaragua, is 
one of the splendid spectacles of the world — a vision that changes con- 
stantly with the fleeting clouds, cloud shadows, and mists, and is as 
constantly mirrored in the surromiding waters. 

Yet, if, through some weird act of legerdemain, Nicaragua could 
be rid of her volcanoes it would not pay her to exercise that power. 
For these volcanic soils mixing with the deep black sediment of 
western Nicaragua create the finest sugar land in the world. The 
volcanic lands make the best of coffee with the most desirable bouquet. 
From the viewpoint of danger the volcanoes are less formidable than 
the automobiles of any great city. Moreover they give warning, and 
lastly, the violent tremblers are usually confined to distant areas and 
strata; and, if I may say more, it is in only a part of Nicaragua that 
the volcanoes are found. 

Nicaragua is one of the most easily traversed of the Central Ameri- 
can comi tries; and each day's travel reveals kaleidoscopic changes 
in scene. Here are momitains, plains, lakes, and an earth that 
responds to the husbandman. After the great war, when the world 
is again at peace, thousands of world travelers will assuredly visit 
this sunlit land of enchanted landscapes. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 




128 



T% 



THE PAN AMERICAN UNION is the inter- 
national organization and office maintained 
in Washington, D. C, by the twenty-one 
American republics, as follows: Argentina, Bolivia, 
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Domini- 
can Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hon- 
duras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, 
Salvador, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. 
It is devoted to the development and advancement 
of commerce, friendly intercourse, and good under- 
standing among these countries. It is supported 
by quotas contributed by each country, based upon 
the population. Its affairs are administered by a 
Director General and Assistant Director, elected 
by and responsible to a Governing Board, which is 
composed of the Secretary of State of the United 
States and the diplomatic representatives in Wash- 
ington of the other American governments. These 
two executive officers are assisted by a steiff of 
international experts, statisticians, commercial 
specialists, editors, translators, compilers, libra- 
rians, clerks and stenographers. The Union pub- 
lishes a Monthly Bulletin in English, Spanish, 
Portuguese and French, which is a careful record 
of Pan American progress. It also publishes 
numerous special reports and pamphlets on various 
subjects of practical information. Its library, the 
Columbus Memorial Library, contains 40,000 vol- 
umes, 20,000 photographs, 150,000 index cards, and 
a large collection of maps. The Union is housed in 
a beautiful building erected through the munifi- 
cence of Andrew Carnegie. 



o 



